


Broken Halo

by LuckyLucy92



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:40:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26789122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyLucy92/pseuds/LuckyLucy92
Summary: Ben Mitchell and Callum Highway have a drunken one night stand together, it was a reckless move that neither of them thought they'd remember once the sun came out, but things begin to get even more blurry for them once sober, now they have to try and pick up the pieces or continue to walk on broken glass forever.
Relationships: Ben Mitchell/Lola Pearce, Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell, Whitney Dean/Callum "Halfway" Highway
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for clicking on this story! 😭 It means more to me than you all will ever know. 🙏

Ben Mitchell slept with the new guy in town, Callum Highway, it was supposed to just be a hookup, he didn't even ask for his name before hopping into bed with him, but before he could get out of bed Callum had prepared him a luxury breakfast in bed, he even put a smile face on the boiled egg, it was too fuckin' adorable, even for a tough guy like Ben to deny.

"Oh, thanks, looks delicious." Ben said, as he smashed the egg with his fork.

"No problem, thought I'd do something special for you after, ya know, last night." Callum said, looking a little bit nervous.

"My guess is that you never had a one night stand before?" Ben said, as he chewed with his mouth wide open.

"No, Stuart is gonna kill me."

"Who's Stuart?"

"Oh, my big brother, he doesn't exactly know that I'm gay."

"And he's not gonna..."

"What do you mean?"

Ben dropped his fork down on the plate then faced Callum, "Look, you ain't the only one who's still in the closet here."

"But this was my first sexual experience with a guy... I mean, I just feel really weird not telling my big brother that when I tell him basically everything."

"Listen, if you wanted this to be some sort of sacred moment, you shouldn't have just jumped in bed with a complete stranger then!"

"I know that, okay? I just... I just thought I'd be able to forget all about it, but here I am making breakfast in bed for you, who was I kidding?" Callum said, burying his face in his hands.

"Hey," Ben said softly, "You will just forget about this, alright? You haven't even gotten outta bed yet! Once you walk through that door everything will go back to normal for ya."

Callum just gave Ben a forced smile, he didn't quite believe the words that he was telling him, but he was praying that they were true, 'cause he doesn't know how he'd be able to look himself in the mirror if this moment was always in the back of his mind.

...

Callum got through his day pretty smoothly, luckily being a copper demands all of ones attention, so there was really no time to think about that drunken fling with Ben, but when he got home... that was a different story.

"So, where were you late night?" Stuart said, as he flopped down on the faux leather sofa with a remote in one hand and a giant bag of microwavable popcorn in the other.

"I was over at Whitney's house, she's basically the only copper I'd call myself friends with."

"Yeah, sure, friends."

"Stuart! We're seriously just friends, nothing more, nothing less."

"Of course, bruv." Stuart said, before humming to himself, which caused Callum to roll his eyes at him before grabbing his jacket and heading out.

...

He was headed straight to the pub when he got an unexpected phone call midway through the walk, "Hello?"

"It's me, your old man." Jonno said, as he laid comfortably in bed.

"Dad?" Callum was practically speechless, he hadn't heard from his dad in years ever since his older brother talked him into avoiding their father once he turned 18 years old.

"Hey, I thought that maybe we could just start over again, just the two of us, whataya say?"

"I-I... I'll call you back!" Callum said, before quickly hanging up the phone, he was gonna have to give this one some serious thought.

Callum then preceded to walk to the pub to grab himself a cold drink, but was surprised to see Ben there... he wasn't alone though. "Hi," Callum said, slowly approaching him and the mystery man, "Mind if I sit here?"

"Sorry, do I know you?!" Ben shouted, causing people to stare over at their table.

"Oh, come on, man..." Callum said, his heart was now racing and his breath was getting shallow.

"And besides, can't you see I'm already sharing this table with my best friend, Jay?"

"Yeah, but the more the merrier, right?" Callum jokingly said, but neither one of them were laughing.

"That's not always true, like in this case..." Ben said, before chugging down the rest of his bear.

Callum could now feel himself sweating, he wanted nothing more than to run out of the backdoor and leave Walford, hell, he wanted to jump on a flight and leave England!

"Fine, I'll just go sit somewhere else then..." Callum said, as he began to walk away, but was unfortunately stopped in his tracks by something Jay whispered to Ben.

"Dude, why does everyone wanna pretend like they fuckin' know you around here?" Jay spoke quietly, but Callum still somehow picked it up.

"I'm not pretending!" Callum yelled, causing even more attention to be drawn to them.

"Shhh!" A delicate voice came from behind Callum, "Sorry, but I think it'd be best if you left dear."

"And who are you?" Callum asked, wishing he'd said that more politely, but he was losing his cool at the moment.

"I'm Ben's longtime girlfriend, Lola." She said, as she crossed her arms, "And you're kinda interrupting one of the few moments we have together while our daughter stays home with her grandfather."

"Daughter?" Callum weakly said, he was taken aback by this new found information, 'cause it was one thing to sleep with a man who never wanted to see you again, but it was another to sleep with one who was living a double life.

Lola just shook her head, puzzled by his reaction, but didn't wanna investigate, it was getting late and she had to be up early in the morning, "Fine, leaving." Was all that Callum said, quickly making his way out.

Once outside, Callum crumbled to the floor in tears, he felt absolutely disgusting, he would've never have slept with a guy who was happily married with a kid, no matter how dreamy he was, that was just one rule he promised to himself that he'd never ever break, and now he felt sick to his stomach because of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Whitney was taking a late night jog when she spotted Callum sobbing his eyes out on the sidewalk, which was absolutely shocking for her, 'cause she never witnessed him in such a state before, hell, his career as a copper wasn't even able to leave this much damage, "Callum!"

"Just go Whitney! You don't wanna see me like this."

"No, I'm your friend, remember? I'm fine with seeing you in any way, so don't worry."

Callum finally stopped crying, but with a shaky voice he said, "Thank you, Whit."

Ben actually felt guilty about what happened inside, so he excused from the gathering at the pub and went outside looking for Callum, but was shocked to find him walking away with Whitney by his side, "What the hell?" He thought to himself.

He then had no other choice, but to go back inside with his friends and family, "You alright, mate?!" Jay shouted to him over the talkative crowd.

Ben looked crushed, but the feeling that he was feeling inside was far worse, still, he had to play it off like it was minor, "Yeah... nothing a little beer can't fix."

Once Ben got drunk enough he decided that it was time to head back home to Phil and Lexi with Lola, "S-see ya l-later, Jay." Ben slurred, which his friend waved goodbye to.

Lola then helped Ben make his way back to the car safely, "Thank God Phil put Lexi to sleep already..." She thought to herself as she looked over at Ben who was reeking of alcohol.

After they got back home they were surprised to see Phil still awake, "Where were you two?"

"Sorry, Ben got a little bit too drunk and well, you know the story..."

"Lola, Ben promised that he'd be back in time to tuck Lexi into bed!"

"Hey, what was I to do?! I can't just drag him outta the pub like you can."

Phil just took a deep breath, before saying, "Fine, I guess I can understand that."

Lola gave a sad smile, "Don't worry, he'll make it up to her, he always does."

"No, she'll just grow up thinking that you can just buy love." Phil said, before walking away while shaking his head, 'cause he'd know all about that.

...

Callum wake up in bed to a sleeping Whitney, "Oh my gosh, wake up!"

"What?!" Whitney shouted, before seeing that everything appeared to look alright.

"What happened last night? Why are we in bed together?"

"Callum, calm down, nothing happened! I just wanted to keep a close eye on you, that's all."

"Oh, sorry," Callum said sheepishly, as his cheeks started to turn red.

"No worries, I understand that it totally seemed that way."

Callum gave her a little smile, before hopping out of bed, "We better get to work or we're gonna be late."

...

Ben decided to take Lola to Toys "R" Us to try and make up for last night, "Daddy, I want this electronic."

"Lex, it's a little bit expensive..."

"I thought I was worth it?" Lexi said, before she began to cry.

"Shhh, okay, okay." Ben whispered, before he placed it in the back of her backpack, "Now let's go home."

But once they tried to leave the alarm went off and the police were called, "Oh, shit." Ben muttered to himself.

"Ben?!" Callum shouted, as he slowly approached him and Lexi.

"Oh, look, it's our good friend from the other day." Ben said to Lexi, who began to smile up at him.

Callum wanted to lash out so bad at Ben's phoniness, but since his adorably cute daughter was right there he decided not to, "Yeah, it's me! You can call me Uncle Callum."

"Okay, U-uncle Callum."

Ben let out a sigh of relief, but was brought back down to earth when his father arrived to the scene of the crime, "Ben, I heard all about what just happened, let's go home and discuss it. Now!"

"Sorry!" Callum jumped in, "There was a little bit of a mix-up, we accidentally got the wrong guy... your son here is innocent."

Phil just squinted at Callum before shrugging his shoulders, "Alrighty then... I guess there's nothing to talk about."

Ben just gave him a forced smile, "Yeah, I guess not."

"Grandpa, can we go home now?! I wanna show mommy the new toy daddy just brought me."

Phil just chuckled before receiving the okay from Ben, he then took her hand and led her out the store, which left just Ben and Callum standing there, speechless, for a moment before Ben decided to break the ice with just one question, "Why?"

Callum took a moment before answering that, looking around at anything, but Ben before saying, "Because I know what it feels like to be in screwy situations due to a parent," He takes a deep breath before adding, "Believe me, no kid deserves that."

"And believe me, I know." Ben said sadly, before looking down at his shoes, noticing that they were unlaced.

"Oh, you want me to get that?" Callum said, not even waiting for a response, he was already on his knees to tie them.

And Ben couldn't help, but to think of some dirty shit while he was on his knees like that, "Please blow me like a flute, babe."

Callum was taken aback by the comment and would want nothing more than to taste Ben once again, but he was already humiliated enough by him at the pub, so he knew that this wouldn't be such a good idea, "Sorry, can't."

Ben frowned at this, 'cause yes, he knew he had fucked up big time, but didn't think that he'd possibly deny him of a blowjob, no one denies the Mitchells of anything, ever.

"I don't understand... I thought you wanted me." Ben said, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Yeah, yeah I did..." Callum said, fighting back tears as he thinks back at that painful night.

And at that exact moment Ben realized just how much he broke Callum in half, all just to cover up a lie to his friends and family, the people who are supposed to know him inside out, "Callum, I'm so sorr-"

"I gotta go." Callum said, walking away so that he could go sob in a corner again.


	3. Chapter 3

Ben watched as Callum walked away, but unlike last time he didn't let him go through the door, no, he grabbed him by the arm and held him closely, which allowed Callum to finally cry in front of another soul after holding in so many tears for so many years all to himself, so it wasn't just Ben who broke him in half, 'cause it was his family, too.

"Shhh, I'm sorry, okay?" Ben whispered, as he tenderly rubbed his back.

"And I forgive you, but... you're not the only one." Callum sobbed weakly, actually letting himself be vulnerable for once in his life.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that my father and brother hate gay people, so if they ever found out then they'd hate me, too."

"Oh, come on, you don't know that for a fact."

"Yeah, but I'm still so scared, Ben! Please help me fix my life."

"After everything that I put you through? Of course I will.

"Thank you! I hope you know that this really does mean the world to me."

"Don't worry, I already knew that."

...

Ben waited in the pub for Stuart to show up, he thought that it'd be better than meeting him at the Highway flat just in case things escalated and Callum tried getting in the middle of it resulting in an injury, but still, he was nervous as hell about meeting him here, not because he was afraid of a little fight, but because he made a promise to Callum that he'd fix his biggest problem... his own fuckin' family.

And there he was, Callum's big bad brother, Stuart, hopping on a bar stool, immediately chugging down an ice cold beer while he made small talk with another guy who already looked like he had one too many, but that didn't stop him from drinking a few more, "Here goes nothing..." Ben thought to himself.

But before he could say anything Jonno popped through the door, "Hey, Stuart, where's my favorite son at?!"

"Excuse me? Last time I checked you didn't have a favorite anything, 'cause you hate everyone and everything!"

"Shut the fuck up! Just tell me what you've done with my only child."

"Callum's gay!" Ben shouted, instantly ending the argument between the two.

"And what on earth makes you think something like that?" Stuart said, crossing his arms.

"Because... because I kissed him and... and he liked it." Ben said, unable to look straight at either one of them now, 'cause he just wasn't up for their judgemental facial expressions.

"Fuck," Stuart muttered under his breath, "He should've just told me that himself, not send you to the rescue."

"So, you're not mad at him for being gay?" Ben said, squinting at him, he just couldn't believe it.

"Of course not! He's my little brother, hell, you could've told me that he committed murder and I'd still love him to death."

Ben couldn't help, but to laugh at that. He then turned his attention over to Jonno who was being awfully quiet now, "What about you?"

"I..." Jonno said, looking deep in thought, "Tell Callum I said hello."

"Why not just do that yourself? He'll be here soon." Stuart said, putting his hands on his hips.

"You know what? Just tell him that I said goodbye, I'm fuckin' done with you Highway boys making my life a living hell."

"Oh get used to it old man, 'cause that's the very place you're headed to real soon." Stuart said, leaning against the bar countertop.

Jonno just gave him one of his dirtiest facial expressions before storming out the pub, "That was better than reality TV." Ben said, before laughing out loud.

Stuart just smiled, before saying, "Well, this little episode is gonna be the last one to feature the guy who I can't even call father any more."

"I'm sorry, I can't even imagine having a dad that mean and mine is pretty damn horrible sometimes... you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, sure, as long as I have Callum in my life, I'll be more than okay."

"Speaking of Callum..." Ben said, pointing over to where Callum just walked through.

"Bruv, over here!" Stuart shouted, giving him a big wave.

"Man, you two sure look friendly... did I miss something?" Callum said jokingly, as he sat down on the bar stool.

"Stuart, please fill him in on everything for me, I've got some business of my own that I have to get to right now..."

...

Lola was in the kitchen making some grilled cheese sandwiches and French fries for lunch while Lexi kept herself busy by doodling in a notebook when Ben showed up, "Hey, you made it just in time for lunch!" Lola shouted, flashing him her pearly whites.

"I... can you sit down for a second? I have something that I've gotta tell you."

"Um, sure," Lola said, catching her off guard, "Hey, Lexi, would you mind drawing on the living room table instead?"

"Only if you feed my piggy bank..." Lexi said, with a smirk on her little face.

"Ugh, fine! But just a few dollars, okay?" Lola said, before reaching into her purse and pulling out some money.

"Thank you." Lexi said in a singsong voice, before taking the money, grabbing her notebook and pencil and skipping off into the living room.

"Man, that girl becomes more like you every single day." Lola said, rubbing her forehead.

"I've taught her well then." Ben said, giving her a grin.

Lola just laughed at that, before saying, "So, what is it that you wanted to tell me so bad before?"

"I know that you've got it bad for my best friend, Jay."

"What?! Are you crazy?! I'm with you and I'd never ever even think to look twice at another gu-"

"And I'm falling hard for Callum."

"Oh."

"Look, I'm really sorry, okay? But we can still be amazing parents to Lexi and remain friends for life, this won't chance anything, I can promise you that."

Lola took a deep breath, before saying, "Alright, fine, I guess there's really no reason to stay in this relationship if there's no real passion in it any more."

Ben then held Lola's hands together, before saying, "Right, and thank you... for giving me Lexi and some of the best years of my life."

Soon afterwards, Ben went into the living room to doodle in the notebook with Lexi, and then just a little bit later, Lola came in to give them both their lunch, and watch some cartoons on television, "I love you mommy and daddy." Lexi whispered, as she snuggled in-between the pair.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading my fan fiction, you guys! 🤗 Each one of you matter a lot to me. 💫


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